August 24, 2026 | 11:26 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) station in Riau Province detected 2,945 hotspots across Sumatra based on data updated at 7 a.m. local time on Monday, August 24.
BMKG Pekanbaru forecaster Gita Dewi S said the hotspots were detected across 10 provinces, with the highest number recorded in South Sumatra at 1,429.
“Other areas that also recorded high numbers were Riau Province with 491 hotspots, Jambi with 437, Lampung with 203, and Bangka Belitung with 115, followed by Aceh with 114, North Sumatra with 64, the Riau Islands with 53, West Sumatra with 20, and Bengkulu with 19,” she said.
In Riau, the 491 hotspots were spread across 11 regencies and cities. Pelalawan Regency was the hardest-hit area, with 239 hotspots, followed by Indragiri Hilir Regency with 166 and Bengkalis Regency with 30.
The remaining hotspots were detected in Indragiri Hulu Regency with 13, Rokan Hulu with 12, Kampar with nine, Rokan Hilir with eight, Siak with seven, Kuantan Singingi with four, and Dumai City with three.
Poor Visibility, Unhealthy Air
The high number of hotspots reduced visibility in Pekanbaru to just 2.5 kilometers on Sunday night, August 23, amid smoky conditions.
Air quality during the early morning and morning hours was also classified as unhealthy and very unhealthy for several hours based on PM2.5 measurements.
In response, the Pekanbaru Education Agency implemented remote learning, requiring students to study from home. The policy was initially imposed for one day and applied to students from early childhood education through junior high school.
More Than 800 Hectares Burned
According to Manggala Agni, a forest and land fire mitigation unit under the Environment Ministry, fires in Riau have burned more than 800 hectares of land in recent days.
The largest area affected was in Indragiri Hulu Regency, where approximately 471 hectares were burned. Pelalawan recorded around 300 hectares of burned land, while dozens of hectares were also affected in Kampar Regency.
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